H.M.S. Cockerel (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures Book 6)

I'm reading the series a second time in anticipation of the new book coming out in a couple of months. I'm not prone to reading more than once unless I think the book is entertaining and there is a lack of other entertaining new material. I'm reading the whole series again and I'm reminded why I enjoyed them so much the first time. Lewrie is an interesting character in interesting times. Lambdin takes advantage of the fact that it is unlikely any sailor would participate in every major sea battle of the times and uses lesser tactical operations to build Lewrie's reputation and career. Each vignette could be a book unto itself and it is amazing that so much happens in each full book while Lambdin makes the action and activities full and well rounded. He probes the inner depths of the Lewrie character in such a way that I feel like I'm getting a good look into the soul of a human rather than a fictional character. Lambdin reminds us that Lewrie knows his faults but just can't stop himself from continuing the unfortunate behavior that truly makes each story interesting and worthwhile for reading. I am a Lewrie/Lambdin fan and I recommend the series to anyone considering reading this as their entertainment. It's a lot cheaper than movies and Lambdin's descriptive powers along with your imagination will make for some fun reading.

Spoiler Alert - You may want to skip this review if you have not yet read this book. Alan is assigned as 1st Officer on HMS Cockerel commanded by a Capt. Braxton who is a Capt Bligh type who insures his power through nepotism and strict discipline with gratuitous floggings to keep the crew under a tight thumb. I was afraid Dewey Lambdin would turn Lewrie into another Fletcher Christian but fortunately not. Then the story turned sour for me in two areas, first was Lewrie getting involved with Lady Emma Hamilton while docked in Naples and then later with Sophie in Toulon. Since I really cherish the sea battles these romantic diversions lead me to start skipping pages to get to the action. Particularly annoying was the extensive use of French while Lewrie is in Toulon which makes for slow and boring reading. In the end though there is a good sea battle where Lewrie sees Cockerel dodge a battle and he has to use his best seamanship and strategy to take on and whip two French Corvettes. The ending is great with Lewrie seeing Admiral Hood finally get wise to Capt Braxton's cowardice and finally reward Lewrie with his own command. Now I. like Alan, can look forward to following him where he is in command and can begin to show his true talents as a ship's captain and probably beyond in the Royal Navy.

entertainment

It is 1793, and promotions have been slow with the bulk of the British Navy laid up between the wars. Alan Lewrie is still a lieutenant and, without a naval commission, living the life of a country squire with his wife and children. But war breaks out with France, and Lewrie is called to arms, only to find himself with a thankless job in port until he wrangles a commission aboard a frigate with a less than competant captain. Naval service takes him to the British intervention in Toulon, and once again Lambdin carries out some excellent research and covers events not well covered by other writers of historical novels. This is a grand account of the events at Toulon, with a sidelight when the upstart Captain Bonaparte takes Lewrie's sword. Events put temptation into Lewrie's path as beautiful and poor Phoebe is thrown into his arms during the evacuation. Action against the enemy finally brings him promotion, but he must take a ship home for refitting, along with the ! young French refugee Sophie who knows all too much about Phoebe whom he has carefully left in Gibralter. Can he trust Sophie's discretion when he leaves her in the care of his wife? After all, she is French, and are they not more understanding about such matters?

I can't put books in this series down. If you love seafaring novels and period dramas its hard to beat the Lewrie series. This episode has Lt Lewrie rakehelling his way across the Med and then engaging in a pitched sea battle against two French corvettes and a frigate. The action is intense and non-stop and peppered with so many square rigger terms of art you are constantly drawn in to envisioning the action. Great book. Only lost a star because the transliteration of conversations with French characters is near impossible to wade thru at normal reading pace.

I felt this was one of the best books in the series, if not the best. Great battle scenes. Lambdin puts you in the middle of the action as only he can. Lewrie cheats on his wife and almost feels remorse. You also learn a lot of history as he reenacts the real battle of Toulon, France.Special guest appearance by young N. Bonaparte. Alan finally gets his own real ship and surprize! Fights like a madman. All in all,this book included everything I've come to love about this series; lusty wenches annd a very special sailor.

A good yarn with a lot of naval knowledge mixed in. Lambdin brings an earthy feel to the era of Fighting Sail, pointing out the health horrors and stinks that went along with the heroic actions of the fight against French nationalism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries,

Lambdin does it again in this (the 6th) installment of the Alan Lewrie chronicles.I really enjoyed this one though I must admit there were some slow points and trying to muddle through all the French was annoying.Lambdin does a wonderful job weaving history and fiction and Cockerel is no exception. The thought of Lewrie getting a leg over on Emma Hamilton is quite amusing as is the idea of him coming face to face with Napoleon and Captain Bligh.Lewrie and his well developed supporting cast will surely keep you entertained. Definitely a worth while read.

Having read all of the novels thus far I’m fast reaching a point where I don't wish, and simply can’t to go any further, I’m bored reading the same thing over and over again…. The descriptions of naval warfare are now becoming formulaic repetitive, and frankly very dull. The Characters are well written but again I know the main protagonist well by now and those that are new generally don't last long usually dying in a gory manner by sword or cannon fire, and as such are so formulaic and no surprise to anyone who has read others in this series. That said what really tops it off for me is that the audible companion is £11.49, for Jesters Fortune or is that costa fortune, the next in the series is simply way too much money, no matter how well the tale is told and the characters portrayed. I wish Alan Lewrie well, and to Dewey I say, “maybe think about writing something else; that isn’t Alan Lewrie ….oops sorry there’s another 11 or so volumes, so good luck to those that might choose to plough on past this point…..but I wont be with you.!!!!!!!

I write this review based on decades as an avid reader of every subject but my favourite has to be military as a topicThis book continues in much the same as all before and having now read all ten books can say they continue in the same way.Our man now, promoted is developing leadership skills and maybe developing a moral compassOnce again he rubs shoulders with another famous historical figure.Once again he is a lecherous dog with a total lack of morality and no regard for his being a married man.There is naval action but repetitive at best, boring at worst but still i its own way sort of interesting.All that said, if I was not as interested as stated above I would struggle to get through these books

This should have been a most engaging series. For many it is. But I cannot digest the casual inaccuracies: why have characters speak French and not get the text checked by a native speaker? The result is silly. And I’ve commented before on the sloppy research and understanding of how things worked at that timeshown by the author. Bridgerton fiction. Fantasy not fact. If that’s what you enjoy, go for it. Women remain bed fodder, fantasies which are primitive and at times grotesque. The Toulon campaign is really interesting and under reported. But this novel sells the reader short over and over again.

I have read and enjoyed all the previous books in this series but found this one sadly rather painful to get through. I normally devour this books in less than a week. There was so much seemingly inane dialogue. This partly comes down to several french characters and their dialogue is half french half heavily accented english which is sometimes a pain to follow. The heavy and authentic naval language which i enjoy can sometimes be hard to fathom but its worth it and understandable, but i found this a bridge too far and damaged the flow of the book. I would also appreciate a few maps now and again to help picture the geography a little better as are included in many other books of this kind of genre.

I have read all the preceding novels in this series and enjoyed each and every one, however the is the best so far in my humble opinion. The weaving of historical fact and fiction is superb (the author apologises for one error for those too pedantic to realise it's a novel), the battle scenes are excellently and horrifically described and there's sex thrown in as well. Alan Lawrie continues in his introspection, but is truly "becoming a tarry handed sailor." I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and would recommend it to any Patrick O'Brien fan.